Dylan's WP Harness finally came today! He was soooo excited!! He was jumping up and down and barking. I don't know if he recognized the harness from the show we went to and he demo-ed or if he's just figured out that if I get a package that there is a good chance it's for him. He was very comfortable in the harness from the get go. I think using a regular walking harness on our walks once a day and allowing him to pull really helped him get used to the feel of it. He also sits politely when I put it on him and take it off -- something I WISH I could get him to do with his prong.Dylan pulled an additional 10 pounds behind him for about a mile (I wanted to start light)....our walk was cut short by lightning. Ruined my dumbbells though.....I'm gonna have to ghetto-rig some sort of cart for him to pull from now on. Suggestions and building instructions are welcomed. He's definitely already attaching meaning to the command "work". And he's VERY enthusiastic. He wanted so bad to break out into an open run with the weight on. It took all I had not to let him.I'm just really really pleased that he's obviously enjoying this so much.

The harness fits him really well. It's a good snug fit and there are no signs of any kind of irritation from the way it rubs against him.

I would start Dylan with pulling a tire but we live in a community where my neighbors are gonna be hyper-sensitive about anything I do with him. Plus, I would so get yelled at when the tire pushed down the grass and left marks on the road. We also started with a gallon of water but the concrete had rubbed a hole through the bottle before we were two houses down.

ellie@ny wrote:That's a really good looking harness!!! Seems like from the front it fits him well,do you have a side shot?I would wait with increasing the weight though,you can find great info on this site!:

What is everyone's thoughts on letting Dylan run with the weight if he can?

He really really wants to. I can tell that he is really enjoying himself and is doing it out of happiness and not fear because of the item behind him. But is it gonna hurt him? Or hurt the training process in the long run? It seems like it would be a good way to make pulling just fun, fun, fun and help his motivation.

No running, it will set back his training actually. Weight pull is just as much mental as physical. You want your dog to develop patience and confidence.Although there are some decent grassy strips near my house, I drive about 10 minutes away to use a grassy area designated for horse trailer parking at a local state park.

My plan is to get him a sled and use it in back of our house. There is an empty lot back there that is part of a public access to some water thing...I don't know something for the city, I guess. But it's definitely long enough to do some good down and backs and the terrain varies. There are slight ups and downs so I think that will be good.

Just started looking at that site. It's great info.Dylan was checked out by the vet. We had xrays and blood work done. And doc did some major work on his joints to check them out. It was really cool actually.

furever_pit wrote:My plan is to get him a sled and use it in back of our house. There is an empty lot back there that is part of a public access to some water thing...I don't know something for the city, I guess. But it's definitely long enough to do some good down and backs and the terrain varies. There are slight ups and downs so I think that will be good.

Just started looking at that site. It's great info.Dylan was checked out by the vet. We had xrays and blood work done. And doc did some major work on his joints to check them out. It was really cool actually.

I do see that I need to slow down a bit. We will!!

That lot sounds like a great place to start training!And you don't even need a sled,just get a good old tire! The harness looks great from the side as well!

Ellie----------------------------------------"Winners aren't born...they're made.And they're made just like anything else...through hard work.That's the price we'll have to pay to achive that goal."

Run Hard at the Rainbow Bridge My Angel Sock-M! I Love You Baby Girl! Now that your Mom Starlit is up there too, please help her learn the ropes, love and keep her company until I can see you both again. Starlit I love you!http://i14.tinypic.com/2a8q345.jpg